Highly Sensitive?

Each day can be a real test for sensitive types, true?  If you are a highly sensitive person; you’re not alone.  According to “Nine Signs You’re a Highly Sensitive Person” published in “Productivity, What Inspires Me”: 

Sensitive people get a bad rap. Research suggests that genes are responsible for the 15–20% of people who qualify as “highly sensitive.” … who experience sounds, feelings, and even the presence of other people much more intensely than the average person. 

“…much more intensely…” I love that!  Intensity and sensitivity applied together creates a tremendous advantage. 

Back to the article: 

Highly sensitive people’s strong emotions are easier to identify (and potentially use to their benefit) than the average person …

 The Highly Sensitive Person:

1. You think deeply.

When life throws you a curveball, you retreat deep into your shell, thinking through every aspect of what transpired before taking any action. Small things (in your own life and other people’s lives) can have a big impact on you.

2. You’re detail-oriented.

You’re as sensitive to details as you are to feelings. You see details that others miss, and you aren’t content until you’ve dotted all the i’s and crossed the t’s. This is a strength that is highly valuable in the right profession.

3. You take longer to reach decisions.

Since you’re prone to dig deep beneath the surface, you tend to drag out decisions. You can’t help but try to run every possible outcome through your head, and this is often at the expense of the ticking clock.

4. You’re crushed by bad decisions.

When you finally make a decision, and it turns out to be a poor choice, you take it much harder than most. This can create a vicious cycle that slows down your decision-making process even more, as fear of making a bad decision is part of what slows you down in the first place.

5. You’re emotionally reactive.

When left to your own devices, you have a knee-jerk reaction to your feelings. You also have strong reactions to what other people are going through. When your emotions come on strong, it’s easy to let them hijack your behavior.

6. You take criticism harshly.

Your strong feelings and intense emotional reactions can make criticism hard to take. Though you may overreact to criticism initially, you also have the tendency to think hard about things and explore them deeply. This exploration of criticism can play out well for you in the long run, as your inability to “shrug it off” helps you make the appropriate changes.

7. You work well in teams.

Your unique ability to take other people’s feelings into account, weigh different aspects of multifaceted decisions, and pay attention to the smaller details makes you extremely valuable in a team environment.

8. You have great manners.

Your heightened awareness of the emotions of other people makes you highly conscientious. You pay close attention to how your behavior affects other people and have the good manners to show for it. You also get particularly irked when other people are rude.

9. Open offices drive you crazy.

Your sensitivity to other people, loud noises, and other stimuli makes it practically impossible for you to work effectively in an open-office environment. You’re better off in a cube or working from home.

You may not align with all nine attributes but if these “ring true” you may be a highly sensitive person.  I salute your intensity! 

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.